THREE-YEAR-OLDS

Winners of most of the better juvenile contests get ante-post classic quotes for the following spring and then, when the early-season trials come around, a considerable amount of time and space is devoted to examination of those who enhanced their prospects following victory, or perhaps unlucky defeat, in the events expected to pinpoint the so-to-be-crowned classic stars.

Even when a longshot surprises on the day, that classic scorer will at least have taken a maiden en route to their big moment. But not Forever Together.

She finished fourth and third in the mile maidens won by Who's Steph and the ill-fated Contingent on her only starts at two – well-beaten both times – and chased home stablemate Magic Wand in the Listed Cheshire Oaks on her seasonal reappearance. Then she headed to Epsom to contest the Group 1 Investec Oaks.

The classic came just one week after her physical third birthday and there did not appear to be any fluke about the way she stormed home to beat last year's Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Wild Illusion by four and a half lengths. There was a gap of three and a half lengths back to the front-running Bye Bye Baby, who was another three clear of Magic Wand, this pair – like the winner – trained by Aidan O'Brien.

The ground was soft, the time suggestive of good-to-soft, and it will be interesting to see how she gets on when tackling fast ground at the Curragh tomorrow, in the Group 1 Juddmonte Pretty Polly Stakes over 10 furlongs.

Aside from the margins and the style of her victory, it was also striking that this was her maiden success. She is, of course, not the first horse to get off the mark in a classic, or even to do so in the Oaks.

Sun Princess routed the opposition by 12 lengths and more in the 1983 edition of this classic before going on to take high rank among the best middle-distance fillies of the modern era, Group 1-placed Snurge opened his winning account in the Group 1 St Leger at Doncaster in 1990, and both Ballymore and Lady Capulet were making their racecourse debuts when taking the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas and Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas in 1972 and 1977 respectively.

Forever Together is one of 71 Group 1 scorers among a total of 274 stakes winners by Coolmore Stud's dual Derby hero and prolific champion sire Galileo (by Sadler's Wells). The great stallion is rapidly closing in on his own great sire's tallies of 73 top-level winners from 294 blacktype scorers although still some way short of the final figures achieved by the mighty Danehill (by Danzig) – 83 Group 1 winners from 348 stakes winners.

She is inbred 3x4 to Northern Dancer (by Nearctic) and 4x4 to Special (by Forli), which may or may not have any bearing on her talent. More significant is that her big win has elevated her dam to that elite club of broodmares who have produced at least three Group/Grade 1 winners.

Green Room (by Theatrical) was unraced but as a granddaughter of Rare Treat Handicap scorer Chain Store (by Nodouble) there was always the chance that she could excel at stud, especially given what some of her relations had achieved. Hitting the Group 1 target so many times, however, could not be expected of any mare.

Her unraced half-sister Rusty Back (by Defensive Play) came up with Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap winner Heatseeker (by Giant's Causeway), half-sister Dayville (by Dayjur) is the grandam of Group 1 Gran Criterium scorer Hearts Of Fire (by Firebreak), but sadly their half-sister Spanish Fern (by El Gran Senor), who won the Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon Handicap at Santa Anita, died before getting the chance to go to stud.

They are all out of the unraced Chain Fern (by Blushing Groom), a half-sister to Peplum (by Nijinsky) and Bloudan (by Damascus). The latter is the dam of Group 2 Prix Eugene Adam winner Radevore (by Generous) and third dam of both Group 2 Hungerford Stakes scorer Richard Pankhurst (by Raven's Pass) and Group 1-placed Group 3 Molecomb Stakes winner Havana Grey (by Havana Gold).

Peplum won the Listed Cheshire Oaks, finished third in the Group 3 Princess Royal Stakes, and her pattern-winning descendants include Hong Kong top-level mile scorer Giant Treasure (by Mizzen Mast) and US Grade 2 winners Jibboom (by Mizzen Mast) and Aviate (by Dansili).

Of course, considerably more notable is that Chain Fern is a full-sister to Al Bahathri, the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas and Group 2 Coronation Stakes heroine whose sons feature Group 1 2000 Guineas and Group 1 Champion Stakes star Haafhd (by Alhaarth) and Group 2 Challenge Stakes winner Munir (by Indian Ridge), and whose descendants include four top-level stars.

Triple 10-furlong Group 1 ace Military Attack (by Oratorio) did most of his racing in Hong Kong, Gladiatorus (by Silic) got his top win in the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Stakes at Nad Al Sheba, star stayer Big Orange (by Duke Of Marmalade) landed the Group 1 Gold Cup at Ascot in 2017, and ill-fated multimillionaire Red Cadeaux (by Cadeaux Genereux) was a popular globetrotter whose tally included the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin.

As for Green Room, in addition to her newly crowned classic heroine, she is also responsible for Lord Shanakill (by Speightstown) and Together Forever (by Galileo). The latter was also trained by Aidan O'Brien and the Group 1 Fillies' Mile heroine was not seen out again after finishing fourth (no blacktype) to Covert Love in the Group 1 Irish Oaks at the Curragh three years ago.

Lord Shanakill, on the other hand, was trained by the late Sir Henry Cecil. He won the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes and was short-headed by Intense Focus in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at two, took the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat over a mile at Chantilly at three, and added the Group 2 Lennox Stakes over seven furlongs at Goodwood at four. He began his stallion career at the Irish National Stud, from where he sired Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes scorer and young Bridge House Stud sire My Dream Boat, and he is now based in Pennsylvania.

Forever Together was bred by Vimal and Gillian Khosla, she is a €900,000 Goffs Orby Sale graduate, and she holds a long list of Group 1 entries. Her late foaling date – May 25th – adds an eye-catching dimension to her profile and it would be no surprise to see her return to action as a four-year-old when the physical advantage enjoyed by many of her rivals would not be so pronounced.

We have seen some outstanding fillies and mares in action in recent decades and the Niarchos family's Miesque (by Nureyev) is among them. A star at two, three and four – with Timeform ratings of 124, 131 and 134 – the François Boutin-trained bay won 10 times at the highest level including the 1000 Guineas, Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas), two editions of the Prix Jacques le Marois and back-to-back runnings of the Breeders' Cup Mile.

Many champion racemares have disappointed at stud, but not her. She went on to have a considerable influence on the global racing and bloodstock scene, and that impact is not only still strong but it may be strengthening.

Already in 2018, for example, she is the direct female ancestor of two European Group 1 classic winners and, like her, one of those is a miler who has generated plenty of excitement.

​Miesque's grandson Study Of Man (by Deep Impact) won this month's Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) at Chantilly shortly her great-granddaughter Alpha Centauri (by Mastercraftsman) gave trainer Jessica Harrington a first classic success at the Curragh. That Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine then put up one of the most impressive performances of the week at Royal Ascot, smashing the track record while thrashing her rivals by six lengths and more in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes.

Threading was the one who chased her home, the promising Veracious was another length and three-quarters back in third, and it the same margin again back to the fourth, Group 1 1000 Guineas heroine Billesdon Brook, a filly bred to stay farther.

Timeform rated her 127 for this win, placing her equal with Mendelssohn at the top of the three-year-old division, and it will be fascinating to see if she can increase that figure by the end of the year.

A sound surface suits her well – it was fast at Ascot and had heavy in the description on both occasions that she's been out of the frame – and although her entries include the Group 1 Darley Irish Oaks, it would be no surprise to see her stick at a mile to 10 furlongs.

Her Coolmore Stud-based sire excelled at both distances – she is one of nine top-level scorers for him among 50 stakes winners – and her grandam is East Of The Moon (by Private Account), who won the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois and Group 1 Prix de Diane (by French Oaks).

That dual classic heroine is, of course, a half-sister to triple mile Group 1 star and leading international sire Kingmambo (by Mr Prospector), to pattern scorer and Group 1 sire Miesque's Son (by Mr Prospector), and to broodmares of note, including Second Happiness (by Storm Cat), dam of the aforementioned Study Of Man.

Another is Monevassia (by Mr Prospector), a non-winner on the track. Her daughter Rumplestiltskin (by Danehill) was a champion at two, when she won the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes and Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac, and that star's offspring include Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine and Group 1 Irish Oaks runner-up Tapestry (by Galileo).

Monevassia is also the dam of Group 3 Grangecon Stud Balanchine Stakes winner I Am Beautiful (by Rip Van Winkle), and those produced by her other daughters include Japanese ace Real Steel (by Deep Impact), a dual classic-placed winner of the Group 1 Dubai Turf at Meydan.

Miesque's stakes-placed daughter Moon Is Up (by Woodman) is another of note as she is the dam of South African mile Grade 1 winner Amanee (by Pivotal) and grandam of Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile scorer Karakontie (by Bernstein). He stands at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky and will have first-crop yearlings at the sales this summer and autumn.

Massaraat, a stakes-winning full-sister to Miesque, also deserves mention as her descendants include last week's Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes winner Old Persian (by Dubawi), who is out of a full-sister to 2007's Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes heroine Silkwood (by Singspiel).

Alpha Centauri is the sixth foal out of East Of The Moon's unraced daughter Alpha Lupi (by Rahy) and that makes her a half-sister to former Ballydoyle team member Tenth Star (by Dansili) who showed his best form as a two-year-old.

He took the seven-furlong Listed Golden Fleece Stakes by four lengths, was odds-on when only third to Remember Alexander in the Group 3 Tyros Stakes a few weeks later, but then put up a better performance to chase home stablemate Daddy Long Legs in the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes over a mile at Newmarket.

Alpha Lupi's current two-year-old is a daughter of international Group 1 star So You Think (by High Chaparral) – whose offspring have so far done much better in the southern hemisphere than here – and her yearling is a second-crop daughter of runaway Group 1 Deutsches Derby hero and Lanwades Stud stallion Sea The Moon (by Sea The Stars).

The mare's siblings include Group 3 Prix d'Arenberg scorer Moon Driver (by Mr Prospector), and the stakes-placed trio Helike (by Rahy), Mojave Moon (by Mr Prospector) and Canda (by Storm Cat), with the latter being of particular note because of what she achieved at stud.

The Jonathan Pease-trained bay was runner-up in both the Listed Prix Yacowlef and Listed Criterium de Vitesse at two, and her second foal was blacktype sire Evasive (by Elusive Quality), who won the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes at two and finished fourth to Mastercraftsman in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes at Ascot the following summer.

Last year, Canda's son Autocratic (by Dubawi), a Cheveley Park Stud homebred trained by Sir Michael Stoute, won the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown.

Dual Group 1 star Alpha Centauri was a high-class juvenile who trounced Actress in a listed contest at Naas before failing narrowly against Different League in the Group 3 Albany Stakes at Ascot, both over six furlongs, but that pales in comparison to what she has achieved so far in 2018.

​It will be disappointing if she fails to win at least once more at the highest level, it would be great to see her in action as a four-year-old, and with her pedigree and connections there is also every reason to hope that she could eventually go on to become a broodmare of influence.

The Group 1 Commonwealth Cup, a six-furlong event for three-year-olds, has been one of the best additions to the European racing calendar in recent years and the 2018 edition, its fourth one, has a tough act to follow.

The inaugural running went to sprint champion Muhaarar, who was chased home by subsequent Group 1 scorer Limato, and the second edition went to star filly Quiet Reflection from the current Timeform 123-rated Kachy. Last year Caravaggio led home subsequent Group 1 winners Harry Angel and Blue Point.

Now the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Eqtidaar, a Shadwell homebred, has added his name to the race's roll of honour. He beat Sands Of Mali by half a length, with Emblazoned another length back in third and a pair of long-shots – Stone Of Destiny and Hey Jonesy – heads back in fourth and fifth, followed another half-length away by the American raider Gidu and last year's Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes and Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes winner Heartache, who flashed past the post together.

With just two and a half lengths covering these first seven, the impression is that this was not a particularly strong renewal of the race. However, the winner was running for just the fifth time, he had been runner-up to Invincible Army in the Group 3 Pavilion Stakes on his seasonal reappearance over Friday's course and distance in early May – on soft ground – and he looks open to plenty of improvement.

He is an early May foal and, indeed, his physical third birthday was not until two days after that Ascot second.

Eqtidaar is the 16th Group 1 winner for the Irish National Stud's flag bearer Invincible Spirit (by Green Desert), a stallion who has over 100 stakes winners to his name, who also supplied the aforementioned Emblazoned, and who has emerged as a source of successful sire sons – something that will add to the attraction of this newest star when his time to retire comes about.

The colt is the third foal and third winner out of Madany (by Acclamation) and the better of those siblings is Massaat (by Teofilo), the Owen Burrows-trained colt who chased home Galileo Gold in the Group 1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket before going on to win the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes over seven at Newbury, beating Librisa Breeze by one and three-quarter lengths.

Massaat's only runs after that victory have been his third-place finish to Ribchester and Taareef in the Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp at Chantilly in September and his runners-up spot to Limato in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at Newmarket a month later.

Madany was trained by Barry Hills, won six-furlong contests at Haydock in July of her juvenile year, was runner-up in the valuable Tattersalls Millions 3YO Sprint at Newmarket, and missed out on blacktype when only fifth to Perfect Tribute in the Pavilion Stakes at Ascot, which carried listed status that year.

The mare is among a string of winners produced from one-time scorer Belle De Cadix (by Law Society) and her siblings include two horses of particular note.

Dolled Up (by Whipper) won the Group 3 Prix de Bois, was placed in the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin and Group 2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte, and her second foal – the first one died as a yearling – is current French three-year-old Fou Rire (by Iffraaj). That Fabrice Chappet-trained filly has won twice and finished fourth in the seven-furlong listed contest won by Intello Kiss at San Siro late last month.

Madany's other notable sister is four-time stakes winner and successful broodmare Zeiting (by Zieten). She is the dam of the Group 2-winning miler Combat Zone (by Refuse To Bend), of Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes winner Royal Empire (by Teofilo), of Group 3 Strensall Stakes scorer and Group 1 Caulfield Cup runner-up Scottish (by Teofilo), and of three stakes-placed daughters.

There is plenty of blacktype to be found also under the third generation of the pedigree, but those stakes winners out of and descended from Gourgandine (by Auction Ring) achieved their honours in India, and although those include classic wins and places in that country, and horses who showed plenty of stamina, it is connections under the fourth dam that tell us more about the strength of the family.

That mare is Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes runner-up North Forland (by Northfields) and, in addition to Gourgandine, she was the dam of Group 3 Prix des Chene heroine and Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac third Harmless Albatross (by Pas De Seul), of Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt scorer Fortune's Wheel (by Law Society), and of Group 2 winner Libertine (by Hello Gorgeous) who was third in the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches.

Fortune's Wheel could be described as being a three-parts brother to Belle De Cadix, and Libertine has additional note as having Group 2 Lowther Stakes winner Infamous Angel (by Exceed And Excel) among her descendants, and Harmless Albatross excelled at stud.

Her star son is Grade 2 winner Volochine (by Soviet Star), she was also responsible for the listed scorers Almass (by Elnadim), Ghataas (by Sadler's Wells), Kahtan (by Nashwan) and Sakha (by Wolfhound), and for two others who were blacktype placed.

North Forland, in turn, was a half-sister to Group 1 Prix Ganay and Group 1 Gran Premio del Jockey Club Coppa d'Oro heroine Infra Green (by Laser Light), and that star filly was both the dam of Group 3 scorers Ecologist (by Rainbow Quest), Green Reef (by Mill Reef) and Infrasonic (by Dancing Brave), and of Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes runner-up Greensmith (by Known Fact), and grandam of 1991's Group 1 St Leger hero Toulon (by Top Ville).

Eqtidaar holds an entry in next month's Group 1 Darley July Cup, and although it remains to be seen just how good he will be at his peak, he is a colt with a lot of potential, especially given his birth date.

In 2012, John Gunther was at Royal Ascot on the day that Frankel produced that incredible 147 Timeform rating with an 11-length victory in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes. Two years later he sent his unraced but well-related mare Without You Babe (by Lemon Drop Kid) to visit the champion at Banstead Manor Stud, and four days ago the result of that mating gave his owner-breeder one of his favourite moments in racing.

The colt is Without Parole who extended his unbeaten record to four with a half-length defeat of Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas third Gustav Klimt in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes, the pair finishing three and a quarter lengths clear of the third, French pattern scorer and Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas) fourth Wootton.

Six-length debut winner on the tapeta at Newcastle in mid-December, the March-born bay thrashed Ostilio – Thursday's Britannia Stakes winner – by the same margin at Yarmouth in April, and with a setback making him miss a crack at the Group 1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, he took a mile listed contest at Sandown in late May instead, beating Gabr by three-parts of a length.

Timeform had him on 117p before his latest success and it will be interesting to see how high he can go in the rankings by the end of the year.

For Gunther, this Group 1 success competed a remarkable international double as he is, of course, also the breeder of undefeated US Triple Crown hero Justify (by Scat Daddy).

When Without You Babe met Frankel it was just a few months after her first foal had taken his record to three wins from five starts for the Saeed bin Suroor Stable. His 2014 campaign was short and disappointing, but a month before his star sibling arrived he notched up a first blacktype success with a four-length score in the Group 3 Firebreak Stakes over a mile on the dirt at Meydan.

He followed-up in the Group 3 Burj Nahaar a few weeks later and made it a hat-trick when short-heading Sloane Avenue in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile, eight days after Without Parole was born. Those wins were for trainer Musabbeh Al Mheiri, but then he crossed the Atlantic to join the Kiaran McLaughlin stable, running seven times and rounding off his career with a three and a half-length defeat of Gun Runner in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita.

That top performer is, of course, Tamarkuz (by Speightstown) and he stands at Shadwell Farm in Kentucky. His first foals arrived this year.

Without You Babe has also produced the multiple US winners Tempietto (by Bernardini) and Always On My Mind (by Congrats), and her two-year-old is a first-crop Kingman (by Invincible Spirit) filly named She's Got You. She had an Oasis Dream (by Green Desert) filly last year and has a Dubawi (by Dubai Millennium) colt at foot.

Make Change (by Roberto), the third dam of Without Parole, had a listed race success among five wins from two to four years of age but far more notable is the string of top races in which she was placed: Alabama Stakes, Monmouth Oaks, Coaching Club American Oaks, Acorn Stakes, Ladies Handicap, Ruffian Handicap, and Shuvee Handicap – all Grade 1s.

Time Changes (by Danzig), who won a listed contest in France, was the best of her offspring and produced the Group 1 Gran Premio di Milano runner-up Age Of Reason (by Halling). The next dam is the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks runner-up Equal Change (by Arts And Letters) and her descendants – all remotely connected to Without Parole – include Grade 1 scorers Crisp (by Elusive Quality) and Whywhywhy (by Mr Greeley), Group 1-placed Group 2 Lennox Stakes winner Nayyir (by Indian Ridge), and classic-placed pattern winners Sky Hunter (by Motivator) and Highest (by Selkirk).

It will be fascinating to find out just how good Without Parole is. He holds an entry in the Group 1 Qatar Sussex Stakes, as you'd expect, and also in both the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse and Group 1 Qipco Irish Champion Stakes. His Grade 1 winning half-brother was never asked to go beyond the mile, but with two Belmont Stakes-placed relations – one of whom was a 10-furlong Grade 1 scorer – there is every reason to believe that the young rising star can handle that trip.

The colt is one of 26 stakes winners from the first two crops by Frankel and he is the fourth of those to win at the highest level, following Cracksman, Japanese juvenile champion and classic heroine Soul Stirring, and recent Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen scorer Mozu Ascot. All together it represents a promising start for the great champion.

"A stallion with the potential to sire classic winners" – that was my assessment of Holy Roman Emperor (by Danehill) in the Irish Racing Yearbook 2010, which was published several months before Coolmore's juvenile star had his first runners.

On May 26th of this year, he notched up his fourth Group 1 classic star when Romanised put up an impressive performance to beat last year's two-year-old champion U S Navy Flag by two and a quarter lengths in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh.

Before then, his daughter Homecoming Queen had run away with the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in 2012, several months before Rollout The Carpet won the New Zealand 1000 Guineas, and followed by triple Group 1 ace Mongolian Khan who took both the New Zealand Derby and Australian Derby in 2015.

His overall tally stands at 73 stakes winners worldwide, of whom 11 have won at least once at the highest level. Much of his most notable success has come abroad – including with Hong Kong standouts Designs On Rome and Beauty Only – and his current fee is just €15,000. His yearlings made up to 210,000gns last year and that transaction, at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, came just under two months before his seven-year-old daughter Inca Princess changed hands for €1,900,000 in Goffs.

Romanised, whom Timeform rated 104 at two and 122 after his classic success, has always been held in high regard by trainer Ken Condon. He made a winning debut over six furlongs at Navan last April, was only beaten just over two lengths when unplaced behind Rajasinghe in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at Ascot, and by over three lengths when out of the frame behind Sioux Nation in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh.

His final outing of 2017, however, was full of promise and that second-place finish looks even better now when you consider that the colt who beat him by two lengths in the Group 3 Solario Stakes over seven furlongs at Sandown was none other than Masar, this year's Group 1 Investec Derby hero and runaway Group 3 Craven Stakes winner.

Had Romanised not run in the Listed Tetrarch Stakes at Naas on his seasonal reappearance in early May then it is likely that, with his Sandown performance being most recent on his record, he would have been sent off at shorter than the 25/1 at which he returned at the Curragh. He was unplaced behind Imaging that first day, but given his pedigree it is no surprise that he has shown such marked improvement when stepped up to a mile.

He holds an entry in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Ascot, but there is not really anything in his pedigree or race record that suggests sprinting might be his game. He is bred to be a miler who is likely stay 10 furlongs, and the way he stormed home at the Curragh bears that out.

He also holds entries in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes, Group 1 Qatar Sussex Stakes, and Group 1 Qipco Irish Champion Stakes, which look more suitable targets. After all, he is a three-parts brother to the aforementioned Timeform 130-rated Hong Kong four-time 10-furlong Group 1 star Designs On Rome.

Might he stay a mile and a half? Yes, it is possible.

Horses such as Mongolian Khan and notable Irish filly Banimpire – who won the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes and was short-headed by Blue Bunting in the Group 1 Irish Oaks – prove that offspring of Holy Roman Emperor can be fully effective at that trip. And then there's all the stamina in the distaff side of Romanised's pedigree.

The best of his siblings are Rock On Romance (by Rock Of Gibraltar) and Fictional Account (by Stravinsky), both of whom stayed two miles. The former, who won the all-aged Group 3 St Leger Italiano over 14 furlongs, ran away with a two-mile listed contest on heavy ground at Hamburg, whereas Fictional Account, who sprang a surprise when beating Fame And Glory by a neck in a 14-furlong listed event at the Curragh, won the Listed Fenwolf Stakes over two miles at Ascot 11 months before.

That pair were sired by a mile champion and by a sprint champion respectively, which suggests that their dam, Romantic Venture (by Indian Ridge), has been passing on a stamina influence rather than the speed shown by her sire and grandam. And that probably comes via Alleged (by Hoist The Flag), sire of her non-winning dam, Summer Trysting.

Romantic Venture, who was a four-length debut winner of an eight and a half-furlong Galway maiden as a three-year-old, is a full-sister to Sights On Gold, who was a Group 3 scorer over 10 and 11 furlongs in England and only beaten by half a length when runner-up to Phoenix Reach in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase over 12 furlongs at Sha Tin.

Their half-brother Simple Exchange won the Listed Magnolia Stakes over 10 furlongs on the polytrack at Kempton and the Grade 2 American Derby over a half-furlong less at Arlington, they all share a dam with Designs On Rome, and they were all bred by Moyglare Stud. So too was Fictional Account.

Romanised, on the other hand, was bred by Monica Aherne, and Rock On Romance was bred by Brendan Corbett.

Rekindled Affair (by Rainbow Quest), an unraced half-sister to Summer Trysting, has also done her part for the family as her three stakes-winning offspring are headed by Australian 10-furlong Group 2 scorer Rekindled Interest (by Redoute's Choice) and the Moyglare Stud-bred filly Where We Left Off (by Dr Devious), who won a nine-furlong Grade 3 at Monmouth Park a month before failing by just half a length to add a similar contest over 11 furlongs at Saratoga. The mare's other one is 11-furlong French listed scorer Porticcio (by Lomitas) who later won over hurdles in Ireland.

The third dam of Romanised is stakes-winning sprinter Seasonal Pickup (by The Minstrel), and while one could suggest that her speed could combine with that of Holy Roman Emperor to produce a sprinter, the particular branch of her line that has yielded the recent classic star is one that has more stamina, a fairly reliable source of milers and middle-distance horses, with some who can stay farther.

She was among the quickest representatives of her Derby-winning sire, she was out of 10-furlong filly Bubinka (by Nashua), and those produced by her siblings include Group 1 Irish Derby hero Grey Swallow (by Daylami).

Farther back it is the family of Group 2-placed Taufan (by Stop The Music) – who sired Group 1 stars Tagula and Taufan's Melody – and of Best In Show (by Traffic Judge), the US Grade 3 scorer who went on to found a hugely influential female family of her own.

With all of this on the page, it is no surprise that Romanised has shown his best form to date when stepped up to a mile, and there is every reason to hope that he can become one of the season's top performers from eight to 10 furlongs.

​And, as a Danehill-line (by Danzig) representative from a branch of the family of Taufan and, remotely, of the many notable male descendants of Best In Show (El Gran Senor, Redoute's Choice, Xaar, Try My Best, Bated Breath, Cityscape, etc) there is every reason to hope that a successful stallion career awaits him whenever his racing days come to an end.